Arabian Nights
by madwarringinvenice
Summary: Based on Disney's Aladdin. Atemu is the prince of Khemet and is currently looking for a suitor. While outside the palace, unsupervised, Atemu meets Yami, a young street orphan just looking to survive. Now Yami will have to save the country and his love...
1. Chapter 1

Arabian Nights

I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or Aladdin.

Now before you ask why the hell I'm posting something that has nothing to do with the other stories that I desperately need to finish, think of this as one of those things that won't let you sleep, let alone write something else. This story is loosely based on Disney's Aladdin. Just read and review and you'll see what I mean.

:~*~:

A boy sprinted frantically through the bazaar. His wild tri-colored hair was whipping around behind him. The thundering sounds of guards that were hot on his trail pushed him to go faster. He ducked around behind a corner, yanked a maroon colored cloak off of a clothes line as he ran. He stopped next to a group of women conversing and pulled the cloak over his head and shoulders.

"Morning, ladies!" the now cloaked youth said breathily.

"You seem to be on the run a little early today. Are you losing your touch, Yami?" a woman asked.

Yami tried to look offended. "Absolutely not! I like to mix things up. Besides, I can out run them as long as they don't catch me first."

As soon as those words left his lips, a burly man grabbed him from behind. "Gotcha!"

"Oh, shit…" Yami cursed, facing his captor. The man got right in his face, almost pulling the shorter youth off the ground.

"That's right, kid. Now that I have you right where I want you, you won't be getting awa-," the man was cut off by a vase landing and shattering on his head. He released Yami as he fell to the ground, unconscious. Landing neatly on his feet, Yami looked up the side of the building to see a small monkey dancing around, making excited noises.

"A perfect hit. Nice work Honda!" Yami called up to the primate. The monkey chirped again before scaling the wall and jumping onto Yami's outstretched hand. After Honda had situated himself on the youth's shoulder, Yami took off again, aiming for the main streets, saluting to the women as he passed.

Yami ran until he came to the main strip of the bazaar. The road was surrounded by people waiting to see something. Yami leaned next to a small gathering of men looking over the others in front of them, to try and get an idea of what everyone was waiting for.

"So, where is this one from?" one asked.

"She is apparently from some far off land. Not that it matters. This will be the fifth suitor that the prince will turn down this month," answered another gruffly. At that moment, a woman astride a fine steed came into view. She had short brown hair and piercing blue eyes, but it looked like she was trying her hardest to avoid the eyes of the people gathering on the streets.

Yami rolled his eyes and turned to leave. Suddenly, he came face to face with the royal guard once again. They sneered at him as he backed up slightly to try and get the form of the much larger man to fit into his field of vision. Deciding that he didn't really like what he saw, Yami whirled and shouldered his way through the people behind him and out into the empty street. He tripped on some unseen obstruction, falling to his knees right in front of the advancing princess.

"Oh, bowing before your new queen before the wedding is even planned? I like to see that someone shares my assurance of becoming the prince's bride," she said with a smirk. Yami rolled his eyes, honestly trying his hardest to contain his laughter. He knew of the struggle in the palace to try and find the prince a spouse and that this woman had about as much chance of success with him as camels had at flying.

"I mean no disrespect, Miss, but I would advise not to get your hopes up," he said calmly. "The prince has a reputation of turning suitors down with a bit of flare. Watch where you tread."

"Are you giving me advice on how to approach the prince?" she asked, slightly offended.

"I just wouldn't want you to go into the palace unprepared. Now that I have passed on my wisdom, you may go ahead with your pursuits."

With that, Yami turned and attempted to leave, only to be stopped by the princess' guard. He whirled him to face her. The woman was scowling at him, her brown hair falling over her eyes as she looked down at him and creating menacing shadows across her fair features.

"You have the gall to speak to me in such a manner?" she questioned. "I will not take this from some street whelp! I will have the prince! Just you wait!"

With that, she waved her arm to her guard, signaling that she was finished ranting. The guard, who was gripping Yami's upper arms at the time, picked him bodily off the ground and threw him roughly to the ground. Yami rolled a little before settling on his side and deciding against getting up immediately. The people surrounding him laughed at his misfortune while the princess turned up her nose and rode her steed through the palace gates.

Honda, who had been watching his master speaking to the royal woman, hopped over to the still youth and nudged him, chirping lightly. Yami rolled over with a quiet moan of pain. He stared after the princess for a moment before standing back up on his feet. Sighing, he knelt back down and allowed Honda to clamber back up onto his shoulder.

"I hope the prince knocks her flat on her ass…" Yami muttered to the chimp. Honda made a sound that was slightly less enthusiastic than usual, but still wordlessly comforted Yami as the two of them made their way down the street and into the shadows.

:~*~: Inside the Palace :~*~:

Pharaoh Aknamkanon walked briskly through the palace halls. He was searching for his son, who was supposed to be seeing the princess, but at the moment, he couldn't find either of them. He supposed that with any other child, that would have been a good sign while a prince was choosing a suitor, but when it came to Atemu, the silence was anything but good. Rounding a corner, the Pharaoh approached the gardens.

"AHHHHHH!" came a shrill scream. Startled, the Pharaoh broke into a run out toward the sound.

Coming out into the sunlight bathing the gardens, Aknamkanon saw the princess on the ground with his son's feline companion on top of her. The boy in question was sitting beside the fountain with his arms crossed over his chest and a smug expression plastered on his face.

The Pharaoh sighed. _I'm getting too old for this…_

Approaching the youths, the Pharaoh ushered his son's leopard off of the squealing princess. Once the offending weight was off her, the brunette princess stood and fled from the feline and his master. The pharaoh attempted to call to her.

"Please princess! Come back, I apologize," he called. The princess stalled and turned back to the Pharaoh and his still smug looking son.

"I beg your pardon, but I will not condone an attempt on my life. Even if it your son who made the attempt!" she called back as she ran from the gardens. Aknamkanon sighed again, placing his hand over his eyes as he spun on the balls of his feet to face his son.

"Atemu, what do you have to say for yourself this time?"

The spikey haired youth huffed slightly and looked his father straight in the eye. His crimson eyes were glowing with an unhidden distain as he stared the Pharaoh down.

"She said she liked animals," the prince said simply.

"So you sent Rishid on her?"

The prince smirked. "He just wanted to play. Isn't that right, my pretty kitty?" Atemu asked the leopard in a high, sweet, childish voice. Rishid purred deeply and ran his body along Atemu's calf, seemingly very pleased with his performance with the princess. Aknamkanon huffed. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glared down at his son.

"Atemu, you can't keep rejecting these suitors. You know the law as well as I do and it should be clear to you that you only have less than a week before your time is up," the Pharaoh said crossly.

Atemu stopped rubbing the spot behind Rishid's ears and looked down at the ground solemnly. He stared at the concrete garden path for a moment before glancing behind him into the fountain.

"I know," the prince whispered simply.

"Then why do you refuse every suitor that comes to call?" The Pharaoh's anger had yet to ebb as he waited impatiently for his son's reply. Atemu began to absentmindedly stoke his leopard in a soothing manner. Keeping his eyes on the water, Atemu answered:

"Because I don't want to marry just because the law says I should. If I marry, I want it to be with someone that genuinely cares about _me _."

Aknamkanon looked puzzled for a moment. "It looked like Anzu cared about you. She was polite and generous when we first met her. And then I leave you alone for 15 minutes and come back to find that you were letting Rishid use her as a human chew toy."

"You missed the whole first part of the conversation that we shared after you had left," Atemu sighed, further confusing his father. "I really tried this time to get along with her. I led her to the gardens so we could talk and get to know each other. I asked her what she like to do and what she sought in a husband."

"What did she say?"

"She came back with: 'Oh, I love to ride horses and sing. And my ideal husband is strong, kind, of noble birth, will give me everything I desire. There is nothing worse than a man who doesn't dote on his lover'," the prince said in a high, supposedly feminine sounding voice. Resisting the urge to smile, the Pharaoh urged his son to continue.

"What happened next?"

"She leaned over and tried to kiss me! She whispered something about her man having to be handsome too. I had a hard time listening though."

"Why?"

"I was pretty preoccupied trying to avoid her wandering hands," Atemu said bluntly. Now the Pharaoh understood what had made Atemu act in the way he had. His son had never been one for touchy-feely emotions. He rather disliked being touched unless it was someone close to him. Normally, a complete stranger would never even get the chance to place a hand on his shoulder. Regardless of that fact, Aknamkanon felt that he still was required to reprimand his son for his outrageous behavior.

"Atemu, I think I understand your motives, but that does not condone what you did to Princess Anzu. I think you owe her an apology."

"Why should I have to be the one to apologize? She came onto me, remember?"

"Yes, but she couldn't possibly know that you like your personal space. I think it was an honest mistake. Besides, you have to think about what she could say to her father once she gets back home. Word travels fast in this world, especially among nobles. How do you think other countries would look on us if the princess of Nubia were to go home saying that the prince of Khemet was a barbaric fool?"

"I really don't care what she has to say."

"I know you don't, and that is what worries me. Honestly son, when are you going to start acting like the prince you were born to be?"

Atemu turned and glared at his father. "Well maybe, if I'm such a disappointment, you should just go find yourself a new heir!"

"I'm not saying you're a disappointment! I'm simply saying that there comes a time when royalty must start to act a little more mature than you are acting now!"

"Well forgive me for not meeting the expectations of the king!"

"That's just the thing, Atemu! You have surpassed all the obstacles that I have set in place for you. I could not have asked for a brighter, more capable son. But there is still one thing that you must accomplish. Marriage. Your ancestors all had to do the same thing that you are doing now. I had to do the same thing as well. Now the time has come for you to do the same thing. It is the duty of the prince!"

"Well then I guess it is also my duty to inform you that the prince is taking a vacation. I won't be putting up with this anymore."

Atemu stood from the fountain and stormed away, his leopard following right on his heels. Aknamkanon sighed in exhaustion. Sitting down on the fountain ledge that his son had recently vacated, the Pharaoh put his head in his hands and let out a long drawn out breath.

"What am I going to do with him?" he asked himself.

"Penny for your thoughts, Sire?" a new voice asked.

The Pharaoh's head came up. Before him, he saw his head adviser, Pegasus. The silver haired man had been in his court for years and had always been one of his most trusted men. Aknamkanon sighed once again.

"It's Atemu. He refuses to choose a suitor. I honestly think that the next person I set him up with will be murdered."

"Maybe you should give him some time to go out and choose a bride for himself. He has been saying that he wanted a choice in the matter."

"True, but the law is the law. He has less than a week before his time is up and I have to force him into a marriage. That will just make him more upset than he already is. I've tried to be reasonable with him, but he won't listen to a word I say. He just gets angrier with each suitor that passes through the front door."

"What should happen if you have to force him into a marriage after the week is up? Who would it be to?"

"I can't seem to remember. There is a law somewhere that states who the heir should marry if a suitable spouse is not found within the allotted time, but I can't recall who it would be. I may have to give it a glance."

"Do not stress yourself, my Pharaoh. I shall look into it for you. I will find a solution to our dilemma and get back to you when I have answers."

"Thank you, Pegasus."

Pegasus nodded and bowed as he began to back away from the monarch. Walking back into the palace, he strode briskly through the halls to his private study. The Pharaoh had been kind enough to grant him a place to do his studies and keep his belongings. As the heavy door closed behind him, he yelled back into the dark room.

"Bakura, where are you?" There was a loud bang and some cursing from an unknown location in the rear of the room.

"Stop yelling, damn it! I'm right here!" shouted a young, white haired boy as he came strolling down the stairs holding the top of his head.

"What happened to you?" asked Pegasus, skeptically. Bakura growled at him through clenched teeth, taking his hand off his head, checking for blood.

"All your yelling made me hit my head on the bottom of the desk I was under."

"Why on earth were you under a desk?"

"I dropped a scroll under it and I had to go and find it, being the model citizen that I am. But enough about my accomplishments; how was your meeting with the Pharaoh?"

Pegasus chuckled. "Atemu-boy is still giving him grief about the whole suitor deal. I can practically see his hair greying as time wears on."

"Heh, I'm looking forward to the day that prissy-princey finally snaps and ends up feeding the latest suitor to the guard dogs. This palace needs some drama."

"I have to agree with you. Seeing Atemu getting all bent out of shape like this is the most fun I've had in a long time. He sent his leopard on the princess of Nubia today. I watched the whole thing from the window. That smug little brat gets to have all the fun," Pegasus said leisurely.

"Agreed. So what brings you back to the 'Dungeons of Knowledge' so early today, anyway?" Pegasus' smile fell into a frown. Putting his hand to his head, he dramatically exclaimed:

"I promised the Pharaoh that I would look into who becomes the prince's spouse if he should fail to meet the time requirement. Such a bore, really."

"Well as long as the old geezer is in charge, it's not like we have a choice in the matter, now is it?"

"Ah, Bakura, you always have such a way with words."

Bakura smirked before leading the way over to the monstrous shelves with thousands of scrolls lining them.

_May as well begin this painfully long search. The sooner I get this out of the way, the sooner I can get back to my true conquest…_ Pegasus thought as he pulled the first of many scrolls off the shelf.

:~*~: Later That Night :~*~:

A shadow crept through the royal gardens. The figure pulled his hood tighter around his head, further blocking any light that would land on his face. Running silently over to the palace wall, he began to climb the tree next to the obstruction. About halfway up the trunk, he was pulled back down by a sharp yank on his cloak. He landed on his feet, somehow managing to stifle the cry of alarm that threatened to spill from his lips.

Whirling around, the cascading moonlight lit up the face of the Khemetian prince. Atemu was looking down at the furry face of his leopard, Rishid, who had the hem of his cloak between his jaws. Atemu sighed, kneeling down to the level of his feline companion.

"I'm sorry, Rishid. I really am. But I have to do this; otherwise I may never know what it is truly like outside the walls of the palace. I have to at least try and live my life for myself, since I know that as long as I stay here, I will never have the option," Atemu whispered in sorrow. He pulled the cloak from the jaws of his leopard, gently stroking his ears as he did so. Atemu felt tears starting to prick at his eyes as he saw the expression of sadness in the golden orbs of his companion. The prince pulled the cat's large head close to his own, whispering softly.

"I'm going to miss you. Take care of father for me, alright?" Rishid purred lowly in reply. Atemu smiled solemnly, kissing the tip of Rishid's nose, before turning and clambering up the tree again. Rishid put his paws on the trunk of the tree and gave his master the final push he needed to get over the wall. Once over, Atemu glance back down at the leopard staring back up at him.

"Goodbye."

:~*~:

A/N: Well, this is another of my dump heaps. Actually, I take that back. I'm rather proud of this one. I thought it would be fun to do this and I was right. I will be adding some very interesting twists to this storyline and you will just have to read and see what you think.

**Quick Question: Can anyone tell me why the monkey is named Honda? There is actually a little bit of a stupid reference behind it!**

_If you know the answer to this question, post it in a review and I swear on the fact that I take a ridiculously long time to update that I will dedicate the next chapter of any of my works to you. _This is not a complicated question, just give it your all with the two or three brain cells you have and it should come to you!


	2. Chapter 2

Arabian Nights: Chapter 2

_**I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or Aladdin! No matter what my desire to deny that may say…**_

This is dedicated to Cooaloo and sandyapples2. These two brilliant reviewers got the question at the end of the last chapter right and true to my word, I will contribute this chapter to them. If you still don't get the question, go read their reviews! All will be made clear.

:~*~:

"Okay, Honda, go on!" Yami whispered urgently to his primate companion. The monkey in question saluted his master and jumped off the canopy with an agile backflip. Landing below, Honda picked up a couple mangos from the fruit stand, dancing around and gaining the attention of the vendor. The man had been handling a rather large melon when the monkey had taken hold of his merchandise.

"Why you little…" the vendor hissed, going red in the face. "Give me those, you little pest!"

After a weak little grapple between the two, Honda released the fruit and scampered back up the pole onto the canopy. The vendor huffed and put his mangos back in place, seemingly not noticing the sudden lack of a melon.

Back up on the canopy, Yami was sitting cross-legged with the melon in his hands as Honda came running up to him. Yami laughed quietly and split the fruit down the middle, handing half to his primate companion.

"Good work, Honda. Eat up."

Honda greedily gorged himself on the juicy fruit. Laughing again, Yami raised the melon to his mouth to eat. Suddenly, a noise caught his attention.

Glancing down into the bustling bazaar below him, Yami spotted a hooded figure making his way through the throngs of people. He was stopping at random stalls and glancing over the wares with a look of awe in his eyes. Yami couldn't help but smile at the look of innocent excitement he found in the young man's features.

As the young man walked up to another one of the various fruit stands lining the streets, Yami could see that a small girl trying to purchase fruit was being hassled by the vendor. A sudden look of annoyance passed over the object of Yami's observation and he watched as the young man started bickering with the vendor, before pulling out his own money and purchasing some fruit for the girl. The girl had tears in her eyes as she thanked him excessively, before running off.

_Cute and kind. Not a bad find_, Yami thought to himself as he watched the man for a while more. Just as he was about to go back to his breakfast, Yami noticed the vendor getting the attention of the young man again. The young man looked back over at the vendor who had called to him. Yami decided that he didn't like the way that the older man was watching his young customer.

This vendor turned sleezy-old-man spoke with the young man with a sly smirk plastered on his face. He looked as if he was making a proposal of sorts to his customer. The young man shook his head, declining the offer. Yami couldn't help but feel slightly relieved as the younger man turned away from the vendor and made an attempt to leave. The vendor seemed that he greatly disagreed with the young man's choice of action, as he reached out and grabbed the retreating man by the arm.

Yami was suddenly on his feet. Ignoring the confused sounding chirps of Honda, the lithe youth jumped off the canopy and down into the crowd, making his way to the cart and the lovely, hooded figure.

Words became distinguishable as he approached.

"Come on, all I'm asking is for one night. I can pay you well," urged the vendor. The young man in his grip looked horrified.

"I am not a prostitute! Now I'm asking you to let me go!" he urged. The other man shook his head, that damnable smile returning.

"Fine, if you don't want money for your company, how would you feel about just coming home with me? I can make you a fine dinner, we can take a long walk, and then I can make sweet love to you."

"No. I just want you to let me go."

The man growled low in his throat. "Look, I can take you home and treat you like a king, or I can drag you back and treat you like a slave. Either way, I'm not letting you go!" The vendor gave the young man a sharp tug on his arm, pulling him closer. The hooded man gave a small cry of surprise as he was pulled flush against his captor. His eyes were wide and he had no idea what to do. He struggled to get out of the man's grasp, but it seemed that the more he thrashed, the tighter the grip got.

"There you are, brother! I've been looking everywhere for you!" a new voice called.

The tangled men looked over to see a similar looking youth running towards them. The vendor's grip loosened in confusion, giving his hooded charge the chance to wriggle out of his arms.

"Who are you?" the vendor asked, once again grabbing onto the other's forearm.

"I am Kikan. That man that you are holding is my brother," the mystery youth answered smoothly. He then turned his attention to the young man standing beside the vendor. He looked so confused. Yami pleaded with his eyes for the other to catch on and play along.

"Where have you been? Mother just asked you to go and fetch some fruit and lentils for dinner tonight, and yet I find you here making small talk with your boyfriend," 'Kikan' playfully harassed. "What would your wife say if she saw you now?"

Yami saw the figure's eyes light up with a relieved and almost playful light when he heard the other's well-formed story. Deciding that he had no other way of getting out of this mess, playing along seemed like the best option.

"I plead with you, brother, please don't tell my wife about this! This was just a simple misunderstanding."

"If my brother wishes it, my lips are sealed," Yami said, performing the lip sealing action. "Did you manage to get the shopping done?"

"Well I would have, but as you can see, I got a little held up here," the older said, gesturing to the man still clinging to his arm.

Yami nodded in understanding. He turned to the man with a saccharine smile, raising a hand to gesture to the hand gripping his 'brother's' arm.

"Would you be so kind as to let him go? We really have to get going."

The man seemed displeased with the command. He gave another sharp tug on the arm in his grasp. The force of the tug made the owner of the arm gasp in pain and the hood he wore on his head to fall back, revealing his hair and exposing his face to the rays of the sun.

Yami would have liked to stare at him a little longer, but it seemed that getting him away from this now very agitated man was more pressing. He then proceeded to get into an argument with the vendor.

The other youth, while his captor and savior bickered, was having a small panic attack. With his hood down, he was free to be recognized by anyone. He knew that his father had guards that patrolled this area daily. If they were to walk by and see this, he would be dragged back to the palace and all this would have been for naught! Even more distressing was the fact that the argument going on between the two men closest to him was attracting quite a crowd. If the audience got big enough, then guards were sure to show up. Desperate, he began to flail, finally managing to rip his arm free of the vendor's grasp.

To avoid being grabbed again, he swiveled over to stand by the slightly smaller, arguing youth as he pulled his hood back up. Once free and successfully disguised, he grabbed the other youth by the hand and pulled him away from the vendor. The shocked vendor once again made a grab for the taller youth. He missed and fell to the ground when Yami suddenly bolted forward, pulling the taller youth out of the man's range.

Angry shouts could be heard from the man as the two young men charged through the bazaar and out of sight.

:~*~:

The bazaar had long since been left behind and the two young men were climbing a series of ladders up to the tops of the buildings. It had been quiet for most of the trip, until they reached the flats of the roofs and Yami decided to speak.

"So, I'm assuming that this is your first time in the marketplace, huh?" he asked.

The taller man smiled. "Is it really that obvious?" Yami smirked and nodded lightly.

"Sadly," he replied playfully. "But I have to say, if you didn't stand out, I wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting you." Yami smirked at the light chuckle that the other let out. Picking up a large slab of wood, he laid it down across the divide between the building they were standing on and the next. Looking back, he saw his guest was looking around at the scaffolding that was also present on the roof.

"So, I've got go ask: I've had the immense pleasure of meeting you, but I still don't know your name. Care to enlighten me?" Yami asked, stepping off the roof and onto the wood slab. Looking back behind him, Yami was shocked to find that he could no longer see the young man that he had just been talking to.

Suddenly, there was a swooshing sound and a cry of excitement. Glancing upward, Yami saw the young man that he had been leading swinging across the divide on a rope tied to the scaffolding above him. He watched, amazed, as the man landed smoothly on his feet on the other side of the divide, a smug smirk resting on his face.

"Wha… I thought… I… how did…," Yami stuttered unintelligibly as he stared at the other man across the divide.

"What? It seemed like a more exciting way to get across. This little bridge was intended for me, right?" the other asked Yami, pointing to the slab of wood that he was still standing on. Yami nodded dumbly, before smiling and leaping off the makeshift bridge. Climbing the scaffolding, he grabbed another rope and swung across in a manner similar to what his new friend had done moments ago.

He landed and looked back over the divide.

"I never even considered that. You were right. Much more exciting." Yami smiled at his guest and took his hand. "Come on, it's not much farther."

Yami led the way through a small arched doorway and into a closed off space above one of the buildings. There were small throw pillows thrown around the space and a torn rug lining the floors. Yami led the way to the small open area that he and Honda used as a 'sitting area' and let his guest sit down on the pillow covered rock window sill.

"So you live here?" the hooded guest asked. Yami enjoyed seeing that childish excitement in his eyes that he had seen earlier that day in the bazaar. Laughing, he nodded.

"Yep, just me and Honda. It's not much, but we like it. It's well situated and close to everything, but at the same time, hard to get to and hard to find."

"I like it," said the young man, feeling the soft material of one of the pillows he was sitting on. "It's quaint and quiet."

"Yeah, we have easy access to water and food," Yami explained with a slightly muffled voice, "friendly neighbors, and the best view in all of Khemet."

"Best view?"

"Yep, the best. Here take a look at this," Yami urged as he leapt across the room to the large violet blanket that covered one of the walls. Smiling, the energetic youth pulled the curtain back and revealed a complete panoramic view of the entire city with the palace of the Pharaoh sitting right in the center.

Yami glance back at his guest, who he could see looked quite impressed. Tying the curtain back with a rope, Yami sat on the sill and stared out at the picturesque view. He could hear the other man coming to sit on the sill beside him, gazing in awe at the beauty.

"This is amazing…" Yami heard him whisper.

"Yeah, that palace really completes the picture, doesn't it? Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live there. I would imagine that it would be amazing." Unbeknownst to Yami, the eyes of his guest fell and took on a sad expression.

"I honestly don't think that it would be _that_ great," he replied.

"Really?" Yami pressed. "I always thought that it would be great. Having all those servants to boss around, being free to do whatever you want…," Yami listed off on his fingers.

"Always being expected somewhere, having to dress and speak certain ways for certain people, never having any privacy due to the guards that are ordered to follow you around everywhere you go…" the other man continued for him. He would have continued, but cut himself off when he realized that he was so close to blowing his cover.

"When you put it like that, one would have thought that you had lived in that palace yourself," Yami stated. The other didn't say anything, just continued to stare at the floor. "So what were you doing in the marketplace before I found you?" Yami continued, dropping the previous subject.

"Oh, I, um, was just… looking around."

Yami looked confused. "Uh-huh. Are you sure?"

The other paused. "No, I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I ran away from home recently. That is why I was wondering the marketplace when you found me."

"You ran away? Why would you do that?"

"My father is forcing me into marriage. If that isn't enough of an explanation, I'll just tell you that I'm not really keen on the idea."

Yami's face fell. "I'm sorry. I wish there was something that I could do to help."

"Maybe you could."

"What?"

"Would you mind letting me stay here until I find somewhere else to stay?" the youth asked. "I understand that it really isn't my place to ask, especially after you have done so much for me already, but I promise, it will be just for a little while!"

Yami's eyes were wide. The other man sounded almost like he was pleading with him to let him stay. When he stayed silent, he watched as the other's eyes fell to the ground in shame. Suddenly, Yami felt like hitting himself over the head. He hadn't meant to upset his guest. He had been expecting Yami to reply. Smiling softly, Yami took the other man's hands in his and looked him in the eyes.

"Of course you can stay here. You can stay as long as you want, on one condition," Yami said to the distraught youth.

His friend brightened visibly. "What is it?"

"I want you to tell me your name. I can't really accept you as my roommate if I have no idea what your name is, now can I?"

The other chuckled. "No, I suppose you can't. My name is-,"

"Here you are!"

The boys whirled around to the entrance of the little home to see the royal guard filing in through the small entrance. Yami looked to his side and saw his friend looking on in horror as the men broke everything in their way as they crossed the space toward the boys. Jumping up, Yami looked out the window and down the wall. Below was a cart full of laundry that they would have to use as a cushion if they wanted to get out of this place in one piece.

"Hey, come on!" Yami called to his friend. The other didn't even flinch. He was frozen.

Yami jumped down next to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him to look into his violet depths. Shaking his shoulders slightly, Yami began to yell at him.

"Come on! Can you hear me? We need to go! Now!"

The other said nothing, just nodded. Yami led him to the window and looked down again.

"Do you trust me?" he asked

The other paused, and then looked into Yami's eyes again, all fear gone. "I trust you."

With a nod, Yami took the hand of his friend and leapt from the window. They fell straight into the cart of laundry and scrambled to get out and away from the still pursuing guards. They hadn't even had the chance to run 10 feet before the guards hand cornered them and ripped them away from one another.

Yami struggled to get back to his friend, but they had an unbreakably tight grip on him. Yami saw one of the guards throw the other young man to the ground and move to hit him. The captain of the guards called to the lower level soldier attacking the young man.

"Come on, Brutus. We have no need for that one. We just need this one here," he ordered, jabbing a thumb in Yami's direction. The attempts to hit the other, still nameless boy stopped and the guard, known as Brutus walked back to the other men.

"Release him!" a voice shouted. Everyone whirled to see the other boy who had been with Yami standing defiantly and hate filling his eyes. The captain laughed.

"Oh, look here, men: a little boy who thinks that he has power over us!" The other guards laughed cruelly along with him. The boy's eyes narrowed.

"I said release him!" he shouted again, pulling his hood back, "By order of the prince!" His spikey hair was revealed and even the small gold necklace that had been hidden by the folds of the robe. No denying, it was the prince of Khemet.

The guards gasped and knelt down in a respectful bow, pulling Yami to his knees with them.

"Prince Atemu! A thousand apologies!"

Yami was dumbstruck. The prince, the BLOODY PRINCE, had been running around with him all day and he never even had a clue! He was pulled out of his rampant thoughts by the guard speaking again.

"What are you doing out here, your Highness? Shouldn't you be back at the palace?"

"That is none of your concern," the prince said with absolute finality. "What I want to know is why my orders have yet to be obeyed. Why have you not released this boy?"

"Oh, believe me, I would turn him over to you, but my orders come from Lord Pegasus. If you want to fight for his freedom, you will have to take it up with him," the guard answered as his men led the struggling youth away and out of sight.

"Oh, mark my words, I will definitely talking to Pegasus about this," Atemu whispered lowly.

:~*~:

** Well here is the next chapter. I haven't had a whole lot of time for writing which would explain why it is so friggin' short and took so long. A thousand apologies.**

** Ok, so I got quite a few reviews saying that readers were curious to see how Bakura would tie into all this. It is true that I have used him to fill the character of Iago the Parrot. I originally thought that I would be using someone from Pegasus' inner circle, but I can't really do a whole lot of funny, witty banter with a character like Kroket. So Bakura just seemed to jump in and fill the spot.**

** In all honesty, I am looking forward to coming chapters. I have had a lot of fun with the first two chapters and I can't wait for you all to see what I have in store for you once I get the genie into the picture. **

** Reviews give me motivation and make me update faster. Keep them coming!**


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